Monster Hunter Rise was easily one of the best Nintendo Switch exclusives of 2021, and while Capcom won't be slowing down its support for this version anytime soon, in a few days it's releasing a PC port on Steam.
If you're just a tad curious to know what the PC version of the game is like, we've rounded up a handful of critic reviews that compare this version to the Switch one. While there are some obvious improvements in the PC release in terms of resolution and performance, no cross-play support is definitely a letdown.
When Rise was originally released on Switch in 2021, we awarded it nine out of ten stars. Here's our video review:
So, what did the critics have to say about the PC version of the game? Read on...
Polygon summed up the PC release as a different way to play, but wasn't sure it was worthwhile for existing players:
"Without cross-save between the Switch and PC, or visuals that improve on what players already have on a handheld system, it’s hard to see why anyone who’s already sunk hundreds of hours into Rise would jump ship for Steam.
"Monster Hunter Rise on PC is just a different way to play a fantastic game. And while that’s great news for PC players who’ve never bought into Nintendo’s ecosystem, its graphics fail to impress, even on the most impressive of hardware."
TheGamer said it was a "definitive edition" of the game and praised it for being a massive leap "in quality over the Switch version" but admit it fell short when placed alongside the previous entry, Monster Hunter World. It also wasn't happy about the exclusion of cross-play support. Its final score was four out of five stars.
"The new 4K textures add so much detail to the monsters, and the increased frame rate makes every fight feel so much more fluid and intense. Even if you played the Switch version, Rise on PC is going to feel like a whole new game in a lot of ways...If you played a lot of Rise in handheld mode on the Switch, you’re going to see things on the PC version you’ve never seen before."
"If you’re coming from World, on the other hand, Rise is kind of a mixed bag...There’s no escaping the fact that Rise is a Switch game. Now that World and Rise can be compared side-by-side on PC, it's staggering how stripped down and bland Rise really is. The regions are mostly flat, featureless arenas that look empty compared to World’s complex and highly detailed environments."
Wccftech.com also thinks World is a better-looking game, but liked the less-demanding nature of Rise on PC. It also agrees it's one of the "best console-to-PC ports" in recent times and gave it nine out ten:
"Having been originally released on the Nintendo Switch console, Monster Hunter Rise doesn't look as good as Monster Hunter World, although the different art direction makes the differences between the two games less aggravating. A less-demanding game, which still looks good thanks to the amazing RE Engine, however, means that most PC players will not have trouble running it at high framerates. The game supports 30, 60, 90, 120, 144, 240 framerate caps as well as unlocked framerate, and a moderately powerful system will have no trouble running it at above 60 FPS. The machine used for the test, powered by an i7-10700 CPU, RTX 3070 GPU, and 16 GB RAM, had no trouble running the game at 4K resolution, stable 120 frames per second at high to max settings.
"The fact that Monster Hunter Rise runs so well isn't the only thing that makes it one of the best console-to-PC ports we have seen in recent times. The game features ultrawide support and tons of different graphics settings, ranging from a High-Resolution Textures toggle to multiple shadows options, including Dynamic and Equipment shadows, Level of Detail settings, and Anti-Aliasing options, and more. The game also does a great job of providing information on how each setting impacts system performance thanks to Graphics Memory Usage and CPU Load indicators, which make tweaking all the settings to achieve the best balance between graphics quality and performance incredibly easy."
PC Gamer gave it nine out of ten as well with similar comparisons to World and how the game now plays:
"Rise was, of course, originally designed as a Nintendo Switch exclusive and, though this PC release is a good port with everything you'd expect, it has nowhere near that immediate visual 'wow' factor that World did. Nor can it compete on things like textures or the stunning bespoke animations for monsters fighting each other...Thing is, though, Rise is the better game."
"...Sure, this might be a Nintendo Switch game in origin, and visually it shows. But who cares, because it's hard to shake the feeling that Monster Hunter Rise is as good as this series has ever been. Which is to say: As good as it gets."
NME was just as impressed, labelling it the "definitive version" but questioned why people would double-dip when there's no cross-play support:
"Of course, even if you don’t have the fanciest display such as an ultra-wide monitor (which is also supported), playing Rise on PC is still going to, well, rise above the Switch version."
"...Who knows, if enough conflicted Switch and PC owners also restrain their wallets from what should have been an easy double-dip, it might just persuade Capcom to find a solution to cross-save further down the line."
That's just a sample of some of the reviews for the PC version of Monster Hunter Rise. Capcom also revealed last week how it would include some special screen filters.
Will you be checking out the PC version of Monster Hunter Rise or are you sticking with the Nintendo Switch release? Tell us in the comments.
Comments 70
The problem is that you can’t fundamentally change the scope of the game, just have a cleaner take on the Switch version. It was never going to look or feel as impressive as World to PC players, even if personally I wasn’t that keen on the open maps in World.
this version DESPERATELY needs cross-play.
it's fine without cross-save, but cross-play would do wonders for this game.
I always wondered how Capcom imagined that PC transition, are you gonna completely remake the graphics or will you really release a game that looks s lot worse than the previous? Rise looks great for a Switch game, but on PC it looks like a remaster of a 2010 game.
I hope no one gets confused and thinks "What is this, MH sucks now" and that people know World is the mainline game and Rise is the mobile "spin-off" (not really a spin-off but you get what I mean).
It will be interesting to see how much it will sell on PC, I think the gameplay is strong enough to justify playing this dispite the graphics, since it offers many features World doesn't.
But if we ever get a Rise 2, I hope the next Switch is so powerful that the PC port doesn't look like an enhanced mobile port.
@CharlieGirl I always hate when games don't have cross-save, this has made me give up on so many Switch ports I wanted badly like Dragon Quest XI.
Wow a 3rd party in which the pc version isn’t a significant upgrade over the switch.
I'm so glad PC Life is here to save the day a day let us know how well Rise reviewed on everyone's favorite console, the PC.
Jokes aside, I'm sure PC players will like this because it still sounds like gameplay-wise it's an excellent game.
PC "master race" as they call themselves can't enjoy anything that isn't lifelike visuals, no surprise here.
While I'm perfectly happy with my Switch copy, it's good to hear the PC port's solid! Hopefully this helps get more people into this fantastic game. It's good to see some studios doing PC ports the right way given how the subject's always a mixed bag.
@HenHiro Monster Hunter: Rise is a mainline game. Just because it's on a portable platform doesn't invalidate this. There are two teams that work on both series and neither of them are the "lesser" one.
This isn't the Dark Souls/Dark Souls 2 or Silent Hill/Silent Hill: The Room situation.
In fact, if we were to get technical, Yuya Tokuda, the director of MH:W also directed a bunch of the portable titles as well as MH4U before taking up the role for World. The director of Iceborne also directed MHGU on the Switch. The directors of these series constantly change among DLCs and the games that none are considered mainline or secondary, they are all part of one whole.
Never played this game, but it seems like the kind of game that NEEDS cross save. Kinda strange that they didn’t implement it.
Cool, sure it doesnt look as good but who cares? The game still looks good and plays better
I compared regular gameplay from the Switch version and the PC demo uploaded on video various hosting sites and I gotta say you can't really see any difference unless you view them fullscreen side by side. For me, there's no point in double dipping. If this is your first time playing Rise then sure go for the PC version if you're the type to be allured by 4K textures and 1000fps. And if portable gaming is also your thing then wait for the SteamDeck. I'll enjoy mine on my inferior brand-spanking new OLED Switch which pretty much gives the same core experience. xD
@CharlieGirl 30 fps vs 60 fps? That really isn't very fair.
yeah no, we need CROSS SAVE instead but no CROSS PLAY is fine
@IronMan30
I see pc gamers commenting that 120 FPS is the minimum to play a game. I agree with your point but pc gamers need games to look like real life for some reason.
@blindsquarel that is so true.
I mean... yeah. The game was designed to play well with the Switch hardware. PC will have better textures/higher resolution/more frames per second if the internals allow, but, at the end of the day, it's still just a prettier version of a Switch game.
This was always going to be much more impressive as a handheld Switch title than as a PC game.
@CharlieGirl this game has two brutal things going against it for Crossplay.
1. It's a Capcom game and they straight up don't care about gamers and haven't for a long ass time.
2. This was a Nintendo game and Nintendo is at a minimum 10 years behind everyone else for making things easy in terms of saves/online and transfers.
Even if Capcom cared I'm sure making something compatible with Switch would have been a pain in the ass.
@blindsquarel but... but it was just yesterday when 60fps on pc was the bare minimum!!
...Yeah I've seen the Steam forums...people are complaining that this game looks "terrible" because, you know...it was originally on a "crappy" system from 2012 or something.
sighs
@Varkster Rise still feels pretty much like a portable spin off too me. What you said might've been true for the time the series was basically just on the 3DS after the end of the Wii-series, but that changed with World.
If feels like the Vita-Versions of God of War and Uncharted, with the difference that Rise has much more of an own identity, heart and quality to it.
@Joeynator3000 what do you expect from a handheld that has a graphical chip from 2015?
These PC gamers are having really high expectations. This is a Switch game first and fore most. Its not gonna have REALLISTIC GRAPHICS at all. like seriously.
Also please send link of the forums so I could see people complaining.
Woah i go crazy on graphics sometimes but it seems these guys care about it way too much
I don't understand how one review can slam it for it's graphics, while the others are praising it for having 4K and unlocked framerate settings.
Well thats good that more people get to play this game, it was one of my favorite ones from last year.
Though as others have pointed out they should add crossplay.
@CharlieGirl I agree, seems like a shame to leave it out.
@UglyCasanova Literally all of them said it's a great game. Two of them said it's the best Monster Hunter game.
The lack of cross-save is the main reason I'm refusing, but tempted to double dip. Especially cause most of my friends who I want to play it with may get it on PC... on a laptop that is 4+ years old now with screen problems beginning to crop up.
@JasmineDragon Just ignore them, they’re a troll who only exists to post negative rubbish on every single article.
I'm not sure if it's smart to say that Rise proves a point. By setting limits, you create generous opportunities to achieve such high frame rates without much strain on most PCs. Sacrificing visuals is definitely something that's initially a shock, but art style is the best mitigation for those reactions.
I’m just getting a good laugh at all the World only players insisting Rise is an inferior MH especially from the PC only gamer crowd that likely never touched a MH game prior to World .
Don’t know about you, but I don’t judge a game’s overall “it’s crap or not” with how pretty it looks. From an actual gameplay perspective I enjoyed Rise immensely more then World. The increased focus on mobility did wonders.
They should try to implement Crossplay by the time Sunbreak drops or you are gonna have a really split community now.
There's going to be a whole lot of elitist PC gamers boycotting this due to it's graphics. They should have just kept Rise as a Switch exclusive forever to boost it's sales and given PC gamers World 2 or something.
They used to throw Monster Hunter games out yearly so I don't see why this wouldn't be possible
Interesting, being a long time Monster Hunter fan, MH World, while pretty to look at, failed to impress me gameplay wise, which to me is the most important thing.
MH Rise however, imo, took the best parts of World and the original MH games, added a couple of extra bits and made a much better game.
Either way, no cross save or cross play is a definite deal breaker.
@HenHiro What are you even talking about?
World is what feels like a spin-off as it completely eradicates the MH formula and destroys weapon weighting and multiplayer.
Rise feels like the evolution of the mainline entries in pretty much all areas.
Pretty much all areas bar visuals are greatly improved and the weapon weighting is near incomparable in terms of improvement. World destroyed it and Rise brought it back which is extremely pleasing.
Pc users: thanks to modders. It has 33k, 2260hz, ultra ray charles tracing. Meaning light a blindman could see. And I play as bowsette!
Switch users: but is it portable?
@HenHiro "and that people know World is the mainline game and Rise is the mobile "spin-off" (not really a spin-off but you get what I mean)"
Of course I do. Except by that logic, Metroid 2 is a mobile "spinoff" as well.
People who judge franchise progression on nothing but graphics (not even artstyles, Carl!) will always come across as silly at best. How is "looking like a remaster of a 2010 game" supposed to be demeaning when by 2010 even photorealistic visuals practically hit the efficiency ceiling, with the next two generations largely polishing the achieved? Some folks may get sold on how "Lady Dimitrescu's posterior has a higher polygon count than the entirety of RE1", but I don't think even Capcom itself, the same dev, worries too much about those people in the audience of something like Monster Hunter. They wouldn't have waited nine years to get the latter back to home consoles otherwise.
The bulk of the franchise's audience will know a flagship from a mobile spinoff just fine, especially since MH has had literal mobile spinoffs in the past (Dynamic Hunting, was it?).
@PhhhCough as a Switch user, I can wholeheartedly sign under that.✌
It is true that Rise is less complex map wise (maps are also smaller) than World, but I don't mind it.
Same with graphics, Rise looks good on PC but World looks better.
It is true the game is much lighter btw, I run World at 1440p, all settings maxed but volumetrics off (they are stupidly heavy and ugly) and AA off (it's broken in world) and I get around 70~90fps 95% of the time.
Rise fully maxed out at 1440p gave me 2 drops under 120fps, and I hover around 140fps+ most of the time, it's ridiculous actually (but Monster Hunter Stories 2.for example was even more lighter on the hardware, got it as a gift even while I actually got myself a Switch copy)
Anyhow Rise is good on PC if you consider its origins.
@locky-mavo I like both World and Rise.
However Rise was the one that did disappoint me content wise, the game has less content than base game World (fair comparison, I don't count Iceborne).
Even better, Rise has less content than 3ds MH games, and while Rise is a fun game that stings and I was fully done and bored with Rise after around 240 hours total, so I am patiently waiting to play Sunbreak.
*World took me more than 300 hours just to do the main stuff, didn't even touch Investigations back then and didn't do most events fully, with Iceborne, ~70% of the investigations, ~80% event quests the game took me around 650 hours (I played it for over 1000 hours but I only count how long most of the content took me to finish)
Generations Ultimate took me around 450+ hours to fully finish, let alone I spend another 600 hours messing around online and grinding for stuff.
I don't remember how long 4U took me, but my 3ds says I wasted 867 hours on it.
Each to their own of course, but I really hope Capcom does step.up their game with Sunbreak, I never did expect World like game with Rise, but I want AT LEAST as much content the older games had.
@PhhhCough But yes it is portable, when the Steam Deck releases.
One thing that will make me buy this game again on pc, will be if the game will benefit from a lot of mods like mhw have.
Good job the internet is here to confirm a pc with a #300 processor and #900 graphics card has better graphics performance than a switch. As everyone cares about the environment there should be a compulsory power consumption rating.
@solidox by that logic everything that is fun should stop existing, because we waste electricity to have "fun".
Game looks fine on PC, visuals and textures are comparable to FFXIV but maybe a bit lower. Framerate and everything else makes up for that.
https://i.imgur.com/KTn0aDo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hBdlsNL.jpg
The game also looks great on Switch tbh but not as smooth. Pick your poison and have fun.
It seems that some people only care about the graphics.
Both switch and pc versions having the exact same metacritic score shows how y'all complaining about framerate and resolution was just manchildren crying.
Me coming in with my hot but honest take: To me, Rise PC looks better than World. World may be graphically more intense and realistic, but I don't necessarily like realistic. With "realistic" usually come at least somewhat more muted colors, and I don't give a damn about things looking "mature" or "realistic". If I ever crave that, the real world offers enough of that for me. If I could choose on my own selfish taste, almost every game would be cel-shaded. I just love the clean, colorful anime-like look that I can't get by looking outta the window, and Rise is ever so slightly closer to that.
@NDragon1412 I like the way you think and agree fully!
@SpacedDuck are you sure
because crossplay with PC and Switch is no problem for:
Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons, Warframe, Fortnite, Rocket League, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Apex Legends, Tetris Effect, and Dauntless (which is literally a Monster Hunter clone):
@Rayquaza2510 really meant the switch vs pc graphics comparison is a bit irrelevant. The switch uses about 4 watts in handheld mode. Show me the comparison of MHR running on a similarly powered pc.
@oconnoclast why double dip tho?
why not just make the game cross-play so both the Switch and the PC audiences can play together?
I'd buy it again if it had cross save, but it doesn't so I'm sticking with Switch.
@CharlieGirl yes it's possible notice how I mentioned that the other reason it's not in is because Capcom doesn't care about gamers? All the games you listed are made by caring developers who actually make games well.
Given how hard it is to work within Nintendo's ancient network my point still stands that lazy developers like Capcom won't go that extra mile.
I never said it wasn't possible.
@NDragon1412 but Rise is does also use the realistic style, using a different tone of colours doesn't change that.
The last non realistic MH game was Generations Ultimate.
@solidox you don't get the point do you.
Also the Switch uses more than 4 watts (heavily depends on the game, also the older Switch model uses even more, and the Switch is very power efficient, I don't like it when people make claims that are not fully true, even if close )
Check Digital Foundry for that, but that too is not the point, you fully miss the point and go on with your own story that didn't make any sense to begin with, above that fully ignoring what my comment meant.
@CharlieGirl because for some reason Capcom doesn't want that, World had the same issue but they never came with a legitimate reason (unless I missed that) why.
@Dethmunk (not a personal rant to you, just a reaction to that quote I have heard too many times on the internet)
"But beyond that they probably looked at the numbers, they know PC crowd generally are quite snobbish about the visual look of their games"
That's a opinion a niche (but very loud and vocal) group tries to push, above that Youtubers try to make PC gamers look like that.
You would suprised how many don't care about graphics, not to mention how many PC gamers tend to have Nintendo systems at home and enjoy them.
I don't count myself though, I play my games on anything they are on as long the game is worth it, so if my favorite game is a GameGear exclusive I would play it on that and enjoy it as much as any other game on other systems.
It's sad a lot of people on Nintendo Life only want to see the negative side of PC gaming, stuff like "PCMASTERRACE" or "PC GAMERS ONLY CARE ABOUT THE GRAPHICS" or "PC GAMERS DON'T ACCEP UGLY GAMES" or "PC GAMERS HATE CONSOLES" and so on, I could go on for hours and hours and most of the stuff I read here in the comments, are negative things about PC gamers, stuff that only applies for that very vocal 1% of them, while the other 99% just enjoys their damn games.
Which reminds me of Nintendo gamers, Playstation gamers and in smaller regard even Xbox gamers, these groups also have a small but very vocal niche minority that gives a bad image.
We have Playstation fanboys and Nintendo Elitists, and while they are maybe like 1% of gamers on those 2 platforms, they are so loud it starts to make it look like every Nintendo and Playstation gamer is like that.
And as somebody who just enjoys the games and knows all sides of gaming, it saddens me A LOT that people only think negative of other gamers on other platforms, and act like their own is godly.
That 1% makes everything look so bad, so negative and unwelcoming to newcomers.
I hate it, just play the damn games and enjoy them no mater ON WHAT PLATFORM.
(imagine being me, a PC and handheld gamer that even after more than 15 years of hardcore gaming still gets to hear why I like both so very different platforms and not pick one, I don't pick one because that will only make my gaming world smaller, and I care about what I play and not on what system I do that)
P.S. forgot to mention that also a lot of people here seem to think every PC gamers runs their games on computers that are "thousands of euro/dollars" and a gaming PC "does cost that much too"
I have a pretty modern PC and even that doesn't come close to what is possible, my PC is barely mid range by that standard.
Not to mention how many people I know that run CPUs from 2012 with a GPU from 2015... people forget that (on purpose) too it seems.
Just because the Youtube is full of people showing off their "20K worth systems" doesn't mean THAT is PC gaming.
That's like assuming everyone drivers a Ferrari if their car colour is red, it's a fasle image created by the internet and the other 95% of PC gamers still run their old c.r.a.p hardware for years (especially now)
And most importantly, and this is something all console gamers forget.
PC is not only meant for gaming, I don't have a gaming PC for gaming only I do my work on it too.
I knew MHR would do well on PC. I'll stick to my 140 hour file on Switch, since I see no reason to play the game again on another platform when it will have no new official content.
If the Switch version played terribly (like say, Age of Calamity), I'd see a reason for another shot personally. But MHR on Switch is one of the nicest performing games on the platform. Kudos to Capcom for their efforts.
@Browny It runs fine on the Switch (except one certain small area, but that is fine)
I was more surprised how good it looks considering the low resolution, the game shows off what Switch can do with good optimising.
@blindsquarel you might be right if basing it off comments in the reviews. They're pissed about the visuals.
It's funny, though, on social media people insisted the game would magically be amazing since it's no longer just on Switch. I'm sure they feel the same way now that it's live...lol
@Rayquaza2510 Exactly. That's why I wrote "ever so slightly". In comparison to specifically Monster Hunter World.
this game with Cross-save (ideally cross-play )would be an instant purchase for me on PC. but without it is just another hard pass. there is no chance on erath that I'll restart the +200 horus I already invested on this game.
@nhSnork no, with Metroid it's different. First, Metroid is has a continuous story and consistent lore, the sidescroller games are clearly the mainline because they tell the main story. Prime is the side series that tells side stories, and they're on the same platform (or will be), so they have the same hardware ressources to create the game.
Rise is on a platform that's severely less powerful than even the cheapest gaming PCs, so of course Rise will feel like the lesser World in terms of scope and graphics.
@Rayquaza2510
i do feel like the point near the end mentioning "all console gamers" does seem to be at odds with the rest of the comment. i do however definitely agreewith the rest, that people tend to judge an entire group of people based on the actions of a small amount.
@blindsquarel
on the flip side ive seen people call others "framerate elitists" or something to that effect for wanting stable 30fps on switch releases. every community has its vocal side, there are a lot of people who play on pc who aren't bothered by visuals (quite a few of the most popular games on pc have relatively low-end graphical requirements)
it also seems like performance often gets lumped together with "graphics" when it also has a big effect on gameplay itself.
@Blizzia Capcom has said World is a mainline game. It's just a new direction.
By your logic, GTA from 3 onwards are all spin-offs, and Chinatown Wars is a mainline game because it's much more similar to the first 2D games. By your logic, BOTW is a spin-off and Links Awakening is the mainline game (it's a topdwon mainline).
@HenHiro I didn't say World isn't a mainline game, I said it FEELS like a spin-off because it doesn't follow the MH formula for combat or multiplayer at all.
I'm not sure about your comparisons, especially since Links Awakening is a remake...
BOTW feels like an evolution of the Zelda formula - World felt like a regression. The two most important elements were changed for the worse.
@Blizzia your argument isn't valid since it's entirely subjective.
For many people, BOTW feels like a regression in many aspects as well, many critisize the lack of more and more substantial dungeons and puzzles and breakable weapons.
The fact is, both are mainline and both are just different from their predecessors, that's the fact.
I also didn't say Rise is a spin-off, I also said it feels like one, and yet, you're questioning my definition, so I can question yours.
@HenHiro You literally state my argument is invalid due to being subjective, then follow it up with subjective statements xD
You defined Rise as the "mobile spin-off". Yes yes you said "not really a spin off but you get what I mean". But Rise follows and improves upon the MH formula, so that's not exactly true.
By that logic, World is the mobile spin-off, seeing as it featured a worse form of multiplayer (players disliked it), the weapon weighting was totally off and player power was beyond ridiculous.
@Mgalens
I agree with 30 FPS being the minimum, but that example was more to point out that c gamers are very picky with graphics and frame rate. In response to a comment about how pc gamers would be happy with solid gameplay.
Does the PC version have an anti-cheat? That is what will determine if I play it there. If it doesn't have anti-cheat, you may want to think twice about wanting cross-play.
@Blizzia no, my argument is that Rise is smaller in scope and presentation due to being on a much more limited hardware. That's completely objective. Rise is technically the lesser World.
How is world a mobile spin-off if it's not on a mobile platform??
Like I said, your logic of continuation of series tradition makes zero sense, because by that most long-going series would all be spin-offs by now.
My whole point is that it's weird to followup a full fledged PC game by a mobile port, Capcom should've enhanced the graphics further so it loses in nothing compared to World.
This way, it only creates confusion for broader audiences on PC, to the point that someone could think MH just sucks now, like wtf does this game look so much worse than the previous, and maybe even give up on the series.
@SuperZeldaFun Thanks, its simple but very effective. I love my anime gaudiness too!
I played the demo on PC, looked good in my eyes, not like a mobile port. Haven't played MH: World yet though.
@Pokester99 Even Monster Hunter 3U on 3DS and WiiU (that sounds so perfect) had cross play local and cross save...
If I didn't buy it before, I'd buy on PC. If it had cross-save, I'd buy on PC too... But I already bought the Switch version and there is no cross-save, so I'm good with the Switch version only
The lack of cross save is the only thing keeping me from buying the PC version. I know when they announced it that they did specify in Q&As that they weren't going to do cross save but I had the slimmest of hopes that they had figured it out.
Tap here to load 70 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...